


That Superhero Story

by MarvelMerlin



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Established Relationship, F/F, Katherine's a sidekick cause her dad's slightly insane, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-02-08 01:36:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12853908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelMerlin/pseuds/MarvelMerlin
Summary: Katherine's a reporter, her live-in girlfriend is her photographer. As far as they know, that's all they do, but Katherine's father is slowly loosing it, blaming "heroes" for all that's wrong with the world, he became Prospero, the sworn enemy of the World League and it's members, Lumen, Masteran, and twins Photnia and Photnian. To keep her father (and the world) as safe as possible she abandons date after date when he calls, often abandoning Sarah to the whims of her twin Davey, and their friends, Jack Kelly, and the famous nuclear physicist/philanthropist Dr. Charlie Morris.





	1. Chapter 1

Katherine sat at her desk and watched as the rays of light streamed through the slats of the blinds. Writer’s block was perhaps her worst enemy, and it always kicked up as a deadline approached. She sighed and turned back to her computer. It was a new computer but an old keyboard. She loved the way the keys clicked as she typed, in perfect rhythm with her thoughts.

She sighed and began to type, trying to type something, anything, that might get her past this stupid block. As she wrote she felt arms wrap around her neck from behind, and a kiss press to her cheek as a camera pressed into her shoulder. A smile spread across her face as she turned to face her girlfriend of 3 years.

“Hey there stranger.” She whispered as she swiveled her chair to face her photographer “You got any photos that might get the gears turning?”

Sarah grinned and held up an SD card “Have I ever failed you before?” she said as she leaned forward to put the card into the reader who’s sparkly cord (thanks to a Jacobs sibling sleepover where Les discovered nail polish) snaked around to the back of the computer.

Katherine beamed and pulled her girlfriend back into her lap as she rolled the chair forward, setting her chin on Sarah’s shoulder.

Sarah laughed and clicked a few times, opening a slide of pictures. Photo after photo of the destruction ravaged by the villain Prospero. And Katherine. The writer sighed, she took no pleasure in aiding her father in destroying things, but he was her father, she couldn’t exactly say no. And she worried that if he continued alone things would get much much worse.

As Sarah continued to click through, Katherine saw the World League slowly appear in the background, lead by Lumen carrying Masteran. The next shot was of the twins, Photnia and Photonian, flying through their portals towards Prospero’s sidekick. Katherine winced internally as she remembered the bruise those two gave her as she was knocked down, but she was grateful. Getting knocked down fast meant not having to fight, and not having to fight meant causing less damage.

Eventually Sarah got to the photos relating to the article, the unveiling of the statue of Dr. Charlie Morris. The doctor was the youngest nuclear physicist in the world, and had managed to create dark matter as his claim to fame. However, the money that came from that sort of experiment, as well as the many many talks he was invited to give, allowed him to become a full time philanthropist. He had devoted his time to developing prosthetics that could interface with the brain like a normal limb would. He charged whatever you could pay for the surgery, and covered the rest.

The unveiling was attended by many of those he had helped, Veterans who could chase their children and grandchildren around their backyard again, families who had been in a car crash leaving their child without a limb could once again hug their child. It was a perfect story, the stories Katherine loved to write. She smiled and kissed her girlfriend’s cheek “You’re amazing, thank you.”

Sarah grinned and stood up “You owe me lunch.” she teased, uploading the unveiling photos to Katherine’s computer and retrieving the SD card.

Katherine simpered “Ninety minutes then we can go.” she placated, kissing her hand before going back to writing her article.


	2. Chapter 2

The tea and waffle cafe was a staple for the girls as they walked in, Sarah’s twin brother waved at them from behind the counter, and the two girls smiled and waved back before placing their order with Jack.

“How’s the article coming?” Jack asked, starting on the drinks while Davey started the waffle sandwiches. 

“Almost done. Don’t suppose he’s dropping by any time soon to give another one of his very quotable anecdotes?” Katherine teased. 

She’d been on Dr. Morris since they met in university, and while she was doing her BA, he was doing his doctorate. He was the smartest person she’d ever met and she began to record what he was doing, serving as his lab assistant in her spare time. When she and Sarah started dating, he’d begun to get lonely in the lab, so she set up a schedule that had her, Sarah and her brother, and a guy in Sarah’s business class that needed extra credit to pass. Eventually the schedule fell to pieces as the failing student began to beg for everyone’s slots. Katherine and Sarah had simply shared a look before agreeing that Jack could have all their slots for the rest of time. While Jack moaned to Sarah about how amazing Charlie was, Charlie was moaning to Katherine. Eventually, the two girls set them up on a blind date, if only to get them to shut up. Two years and a dog later, the two men would be getting married in the spring.

Jack laughed “You know he loves his schedule. More than me probably.”

“That’s because the schedule is actually useful.” Came the unmistakable sound of Charlie’s voice from the door

“Can I quote that?” Katherine joked before grabbing her sandwich, Charlie’s glare softened when Jack leaned over and kissed his cheek, the doctor’s big glasses covering some of the bright red flush that spread across his face. 

Sarah cooed and Davey said “You four are so strange.” as he handed Sarah her sandwich. Jack skipped over to the sign that hung on the door and flipped it to closed, attacking the clock they had that had it set to say that they’ll reopen at 1. The group of friends sat down around a white coffee table, Jack and Charlie sat on the red paint splot loveseat against the window, Katherine and Sarah sat across from them and Davey sat on the end of the table in the black ball chair that sat suspended from the roof.

Jack and Charlie had bought the cafe just over a year ago, and it had been thriving ever since. The cafe sat on the corner of an intersection of two main streets, and at the edge of both a family-friendly yet hipster neighborhood and the tall skyscrapers of the business district. They offered everything a normal cafe would, but their specialty was their waffle sandwiches. The cafe held the title of “Best sandwiches” and was in the running yet again (“I make the best sandwiches in the whole city” he’d brag, before Davey would clear his throat and Jack would revise “Davey makes the best sandwiches in the whole city.”)

As the girls ate, they talked, Jack’s mother Medda was already in full wedding planning frenzy and was not allowing the two boys to do anything. 

“Please Sarah.” Begged Jack “Do something before we end up in hot pink suits covered in a million different kinds of flowers.” 

Sarah laughed and sipped her tea “I’ll see what I can do.”

They continued talking as Katherine’s phone buzzed, she took it out to see a message from her father, summoning to his mansion. She turned to Sarah and pecked her lips “Gotta go. Can you-”

“Submit your article for you?” she finished for her girlfriend “Yes. I can.”

Katherine grabbed her bag and left, driving to the outskirts of the city. 

As she drove up the driveway she remembered what it used to look like. The now spindly and broken trees were green, birds nesting in a few and greeting anyone who made their way up the main laneway. The once grand entrance once tiled with granite of many colours from around the world that now lay smashed to pieces, and the once beautiful complex sculpted stairs were now covered by black, unappealing soot. As Katherine stepped into the foyer she could barely remember the spiraling staircases and the stained glass skylight that reached from the third floor down to the ground level, and the once beautiful wooden balconies of the second and third were now replaced with steel grates, and the spiraling stairs that seemed out of a fairytale were now replaced with blackened wood and hard, rusted iron. The once beautiful skylight that mimicked the night sky was now closed. Everything Katherine had that reminded her of her mother was covered up by the same darkness that seemed to have possessed her father.

She walked down to the basement where her father was already waiting in disguise as the feared villain Prospero, for a moment Katherine hoped he was asleep in his chair, but he spoke in his gravelly voice “Get dressed. Tonight’s the night.”

As she got dressed Katherine tried to convince herself that she was doing this because the father that had been smiles and spoils was still in there. He blamed those with powers for the death of his wife. Five years ago, an explosion of dark matter had unleashed multiple catastrophes. Katherine’s mother had been one of the first to publicly offer support to those affected, and she began visiting hospitals, never wearing the proper protection when interacting with those exposed to the dark matter directly. When she got sick, everyone believed that it was because she had ignored doctors warnings, but science had changed less than a year after her mother’s death. The leading minds of the worlds, and even those smaller ones who always sought to prove the big names wrong, all agreed that dark matter in that small of an amount as was dispersed to the general populus was harmless. In fact, they began to draw a connection between dark matter and the emergence of powered peoples. And just like that, her father had a target.

“Prodigy!” he called out. He rarely used her name anymore, instead he used the moniker he’d given her the first time she’d gone out with him.

Katherine sighed and finished pulling on her costume and tucked her red hair into the skin tight hood-mask before walking out to where he waited, he rambled about how he’d finally discovered the identity of Masterma and his “gang of monsters”. She remained silent, stepping into the pod that allowed them to travel throughout the city in the blink of an eye.

Soon enough they arrived downtown and he began wreaking havoc with the small machines he’d built. Prodigy stood to the side, watching for the costumed heroes when soon enough she saw them flying in. She sighed, and began scaring bystanders away. 

“MASTERMA! COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME! DON’T HIDE BEHIND YOUR TOYS!” Prospero shouted at the sky.

“Sure thing.” The hero said as he dropped from Lumen’s grasp. Prodigy stood, watching as they circled each other like lions. 

Soon, she heard the unmistakable swish of air that indicated a portal behind her, and before she could turn to face the twins, everything went black.

When Katherine opened her eyes she was restrained to a bed, her hood and mask still on she was surrounded by the four heros.

“You know, for someone who shows up every time he does, he really didn’t care when we took her.” came a voice masked by a modulator.

“She may still be important, who knows.” came a second voice

“We could just find out who she is.” said a third, this one she recognised as Marterma’s as someone began to slip their fingers under the edge of the mask she began to thrash. She moved her head to bite at the finger when she felt something in her head that wasn’t her own thoughts, and heard a gasp. 

“No way.” Came Masterma’s voice again

“What is it?” came a fourth voice, this one female. Katherine struggled to place the voices, she knew she’d heard them before, but that was impossible, the only one who regularly talked was Masterma. As she tried to process thoughts Photnian reached forward and pulled back her mask and hood. 

“What the hell?” came a familiar voice, the first to not be covered by a modulator

“Sarah?” Katherine called out confused. One by one the members of the World League removed their masks, and Katherine was forced to realize that standing in front of her were Charlie, Jack, Davey, and Sarah.


	3. Chapter 3

After she’d explained why she’d joined her father (with Jack confirming that she was not, in fact, lying) they released her, with Davey going to grab some ice and Jack and Charlie making some awkward excuse to escape the quagmire that was sure to be unleashed.

Sarah, however, just sat, in her sparkly outfit, and watched Katherine as she pulled off the hood fully. Sarah sat and Katherine stood, the awkward silence seeming to grow worse and worse until Sarah finally spoke,

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked

“I could ask you the same. You got your powers well before he became Prospero, or did you forget why we met in the first place?” Katherine retorted, more hostile than she’d wished, but she couldn’t seem to control herself. 

Sarah sat back in the chair, remembering how her family had worried when their eldest children were in hospital after the explosion of dark matter hit them while walking towards home. There was no way the Jacobs would have been able to pay for their hospital bills, but after Katherine’s mother adopted the cause, she would visit the hospitals every day, paying bills with the millions her husband made, sometimes bringing her daughter with her, but after she’d met the Jacobs twins, she’d insisted on visiting them every day, even after they got out of the hospital.

“We found out a few months after the explosion... Charlie and Jack were in other hospitals, but our powers all stem from the metamorphosis the dark matter forced into our bodies.” Sarah looked at her hands as she spoke, “We’d just gotten out of the hospital when we started floating around our room. When we met Jack and Charlie in college we’d already started training, but Charlie was already helping people, and Jack was doing his best to find others like us and-”

Katherine cut her off “Others? How many of you are there?”

“150 that we’ve found so far. Most of them are just small things, being able to change small bits of their bodies, a couple with clairvoyant dreams. But there are other heroes, across the country, even across the world. We just happened to be at the epicenter.” 

Katherine nodded as they relapsed into silence. After a few moments, Sarah stood up and moved towards Katherine, not walking, but hovering a few centimeters off the ground. When she reached her, Sarah cupped Katherine’s cheek,

“You did a good thing... But I can’t keep fighting you.” she said softly as Katherine leaned into her touch

“I love you.” Katherine murmured, placing her hand over Sarah’s

“And I you.” she replied softly.

-

“Do you think they’ve come to a decision? About Prospero, I mean” Charlie said, leaning on the counter of the cafe, watching Davey help Les with his homework. 

“I hope so.” Jack said with a slight smile and brought Charlie’s London Fog to him, accompanied by a kiss to the cheek. The three had changed out of their uniforms and into their civies on the way up in silence. Katherine had been with their little group for what seemed like forever. They all thought they were keeping her safe by not telling her what they did, but knowing she was Prodigy, and her father was the man they’d spent the better part of two years trying to defeat, well that changed things, even if she was trying to protect people, there was a wrong and a right way to do it in Charlie’s mind.

“You said she doesn’t know anything about the Quantum Order?” He asked. His fiance’s telepathy was useful sometimes, but more times than not, it lead to more questions.

“Whatever her father used her for, he didn’t trust her. It’s sad really, he’s become so twisted even she doesn’t recognise him anymore.” Jack said, reaching out to grab Charlie’s hands “And don’t you go blaming yourself for this. You didn’t cause the explosion, and what you know now might not have stopped it anyways.” 

“Stop reading my damn mind.” Charlie grumbled, to which Jack just smiled and kissed his fiance’s hand

“I’m not reading your mind, I’m reading you.” Charlie just smiled, when Les trotted over to him

“Charlie,” the high-school senior still whined his name a little whenever he wanted something “What sorts of signals does the brain use to communicate sensations, thoughts and actions?” Charlie smiled and pecked Jack’s lips before walking towards the table Davey was sitting at, joining the ‘Save Les From AP Science’ study group.

Jack looked down at his watch, and after checking to see if anyone was watching, flipped the watch face up to reveal the small screen underneath. He quickly sent a message to Sarah, asking if everything was okay.

What he got in return was a snarky ‘Mind your own business Kelly -K’. He shook his head and looked up as another customer came in, he flipped the face down, and began to take the man’s order.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I lied... This is gonna be more than 4 chapters
> 
> BUT HEY! I kicked my writer's block!  
> Enjoy!

After Les went home, the five of them sat around a table back in their base, helpfully stationed right under the cafe. Katherine had changed out of her uniform and into one of Sarah’s dresses. She so rarely wore dresses it felt strange to her. So did sitting around the table as Charlie shot heat waves into their cups as they started to cool down.

 

“So you’re father’s nuts and wants to kill us,” Jack stated to break the silence. Both Charlie and the Jacobs twins turned towards him, with the two boys smacking him and Sarah just glaring as she tightened her arm around Katherine’s waist. Suddenly it clicked in Katherine’s head that being a superhero was what kept her girlfriend in such good shape.

 

Katherine smiled wryly “Sounds about right.” she said, sipping her latte to hide her smile, glad that some things never change.

 

“But why didn’t you report him to the cops? I mean, objectively speaking he’s gone a little nuts-” Davey started before Katherine cut him off

 

“Because he’s still my father.” she said firmly, looking at her hand in Sarah’s “Could you turn in Medda?” she directed at Jack

“We’ll figure something out.” he said, “There’s always another solution.”

“What about your brother? Hasn’t he started his own branch out on the West Coast?” suggested Davey

“Race has powers? Oh god help us,” muttered Katherine to herself. 

Race and Jack had both been adopted by Medda, after being fostered by her. Jack’s little brother was just as much the troublemaker Jack was, but much better at playing innocent. But, the two of them had gone their separate ways after Race graduated, just a few months after Masterma showed up, Katherine now realized. 

“Why’s he all the way out there?” she asked  
“The wave of dark matter spread farther than any of us realized, well ‘cept for Charlie,” Jack said, the small amount of pride in his voice making the scientist blush.

“It was a simple calculation, really.” he insisted before turning his attention back to Katherine “When we realized that people were affected far beyond the city limits, Race volunteered to go manage the development of the League on the West Coast. They’re handling their own big-bad.”

“Delirist.” Katherine said “Met him. Really big jerk.”

“Don’t suppose he’s got any kids?” Jack inquired

“A couple. Darcy and his sister. She was killed in a car crash, hence the father’s need for revenge.” she replied

“So what, do they all go brood together in a cave and leave you to just... Hang out?” Sarah asked

“Last time I sat in on a meeting I almost got hit by a toaster. They can’t agree on anything but destruction, and even then, they want to destroy different things.”

“So, just to review, your father’s an evil psychopath, possibly suffering from duo-personalities, you’ve met Delirist and his son, so I should assume you’ve met all the baddies?” Charlie piped up

“Sounds about right yeah,” Katherine said, leaning back into her girlfriend

“Well, now he’s off the invite list,” Charlie said, scratching a note on the sidelines

“You were actually prepared to invite my father, who blatantly ignores the fact that Sarah and I have been together for more than three years and tries to set me up with blue-blood guys, to your very very gay wedding?” 

“And stick him at a table at the back but still. You forget he funded my first round of research in uni.” Charlie said, wagging his pen at her. 

Katherine smiled, watching the others continue to debate, but about wedding colors instead of villains. She muttered to Sarah that she’d be right back and stood up, taking the empty cups with her, Jack following with the plates.

After she put them in the sink she leaned on the counter, facing Jack “So, how many superheroes are gonna be at this wedding?”

“In the wedding party alone... Well, the two of us. Dave, Spot, Race, Sarah. You’re literally the only normal one.” Jack laughed “Never thought I’d say that.”

Katherine smiled, remembering when Jack first showed up at the lab. He was a scrawny 20-year-old, covered in paint and trying to keep up with the years of in-jokes and lightspeed banter. He soon found his place, however, seeming to click into place like a puzzle piece. He got Sarah her first camera and sat with Katherine while her laptop got de-virused a day before the final paper was due. He joined the rotation of people picking up Les from school and began making craft baggies for kids in Charlie’s first prosthetic study. Sometimes they forgot that it had only been a couple years since he first showed up. 

“You know what,” Davey had said to him once “You’re like a stray puppy. Show up cause you need something, but stay cause you like us.” He’d laughed and barked like a dog

“I may not have powers, but I do have a good memory, and I don’t remember being asked to be in the wedding party,” she said teasingly, earning a look from Jack

“You and Sarah are the whole reason I met Charlie. What did you think we were gonna do? Stick you in the back row? Charlie said he’d asked you to be the best woman for him.” Jack replied, this time, Katherine gave him the look

“You know Charlie. His head is like a strainer. It retains maybe 20 percent of what we say non-science related.” The two laughed as Charlie walked over

“I heard my name, what do I need to tell Jack off for this time?”

“You forgot to ask her to be your best woman,” Jack said, laughing and kissing Charlie’s nose as his face turned bright red

“Right...” he looked over at Katherine and started to talk

“You know I will.” she said before flicking a balled up receipt at him “How could I say no?”


End file.
